Pankaj Tripathi recently opened up about his eating habits in a chat with FSSAI’s Eat Right India, emphasising why mindful eating is the simplest key to better health. He also revealed that for the past month, he has been taking 30 minutes to finish his meal, highlighting the benefits of slow eating. 

“For the past month, I have been spending about half an hour eating nowadays, savouring the juices, savouring the taste, because all the hustle of the entire day is for this meal, isn’t it? So, there should definitely be proper time for that meal, where my focus remains solely on the food and nothing else,” he can be heard saying in Hindi.

So, is this process beneficial for health?

Experts say there isn’t a universal rule that all meals must take 30 minutes. The process matters more: whether you eat carefully, chew properly, and give your body enough time to realise it is fully satisfied.

Dr Pankaj Kumar, Consultant, Kailash Hospital, Greater Noida, says, “When eating fast, you may eat more than necessary and not feel it until you become satisfied. On the contrary, by slowing down, you will be able to concentrate on what you eat, enjoy the process, and detect satiety signs.”

Deepa Mishra, a dietitian at Narayana RN Tagore Hospital, Mukundapur, Kolkata, agrees and add, “Slower eating creates a natural pause between bites, making it easier to notice when hunger is fading, making meals feel more comfortable.”

There is also a psychological side to it. 

 

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Deepa says, “Eating at a slower pace often makes meals feel calmer and more intentional, which can reduce stress around food and help people enjoy what they are eating. In that sense, slow eating is not just about digestion or calorie intake, but also about building a healthier and more mindful relationship with food.”

Thus, instead of measuring your time of eating, Dr. Pankaj Kumar advises to pay attention to the following:

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•   Take small portions and chew them thoroughly.
•   Put your knife and fork down between the bites whenever it is possible.
•   Avoid hasty and distracted eating (do not use electronic gadgets while eating).
•   Notice when you become hungry and when you are not.
•   Do not hurry while eating.

Why your brain takes 30 minutes to say ‘I’m full’ 

We have all experienced it – you finish a large meal quickly and still feel hungry, only to feel overly stuffed 30 minutes later. This is not lack of control, but pure biology. 

Samiksha Chordiya, a senior dietician at DPU Super Specialty Hospital, Pimpri, Pune says, “It takes the brain roughly 20 to 30 minutes to register fullness, and understanding this delay is key to preventing overeating.”

Explaining the gut-brain conversation, she says that satiety is controlled by the hypothalamus, the appetite centre of the brain. “Fullness is not about a full stomach, it’s about the brain receiving confirmation that enough energy has arrived. This confirmation is chemical and neural, and it is intentionally slow,” she adds.

Eating slowly can give the body more time to recognise fullness

What happens in those 20-30 minutes?

Samiksha explains the gut-brain conversation in detail:

0-5 Minutes: The Stretch Signal

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As you start eating, the stomach expands. Mechanoreceptors in the stomach wall get activated and send a signal via the vagus nerve to the brainstem. This is the first, but weak, signal.

10-20 Minutes: The Hormonal Signal

When food, especially protein and fat, reaches the small intestine, it triggers the release of powerful satiety hormones – Cholecystokinin ,Peptide and GLP-1 (the same hormone targeted by weight loss drugs like Ozempic). Simultaneously, Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, starts to drop.

20-30 Minutes: The Final Confirmation

These hormones travel through the blood to the hypothalamus. There, they interact with Leptin, a hormone from fat stores. Only when all signals converge does the hypothalamus create the conscious feeling of satisfaction and tell you to stop eating.

Does eating quickly increase the likelihood of bloating, acidity, indigestion or discomfort?

Rapid ingestion of food has the potential to cause bloat and dyspepsia as well as exacerbation of symptoms of acidity in certain individuals. 

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From a gastroenterology standpoint, Dr Saiprasad Lad, consultant – gastroenterologist, hepatologist and therapeutic GI Endoscopist, at S.L. Raheja Hospital, Mumbai – A Fortis Associate says, “One of the main contributors to the problem is aerophagia or air swallowing. The faster we ingest food, especially if we take large bites and talk while eating, the more air we ingest with our meals, causing us to burp and feel bloated.”

He adds, “Fast ingestion of food will also stimulate the consumption of more food without giving enough time for the stomach and brain to recognize fullness. As a result, that will make the stomach expand even more and cause postprandial heaviness in people prone to GERD.”

It should be noted, though, that rapid eating does not always mean an immediate cause of acidity or indigestion, which may have several reasons, including Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), functional dyspepsia, gastritis, food allergies and some food triggers.